Sunday, November 30, 2008

Slowly but surely I'm letting Deacon watch more and more non-PBS kids/Playhouse Disney type movies... things like Transformers, Hot Wheels, etc... Mainly because they're great "rewards" for good behavior and keep him better occupied than the Backyardigans now a days. Don't get me wrong, he still loves his shows on Sprout, Noggin, and Playhouse Disney... but he goes wild over the race car, superhero and "big kid" shows. The other day we were at Blockbuster and he wanted to rent 101 Dalmations- and I was pretty excited thinking it might be less "intense" than the other new movies we've been watching. Boy, was I wrong... those old school Disney movies have some pretty intense scenes and not so great language (by a 3 year olds standards, mind you). Deacon now goes around telling me that it's "not nice to hit cats over the head with bottles." - which makes me laugh every time.

Anyways, we took Deacon to see "Bolt" today with the Harrigan's... I don't know who enjoyed it more- me or him. At one point I was crying I was laughing so hard- it was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. Deacon really enjoyed it too- though the fire scene was kinda scary. The rest of the day he asked kept asking me if Milo knew how to talk and fly... and I'm not quite sure why he kept asking... as if we've been keeping Milo's super powers a secret from him all this time and he's just never noticed.

After naptime Damien and Deacon put up some lights outside the house... not too successfully- as only half the lights worked... which really upset Deacon that the lights weren't working. I really hate those temper tantrums- they're the epitome of brattiness in my opinion. Here we are trying to do something fun and nice and he's having a panic attack over something we cannot control. Times like that I want to throw L&L parenting out the window and throw him in time out for being un-appreciative... which I know would work wonders, huh? Anyways, after that crisis was averted we had a good rest of the evening and will be fixing the light issue tomorrow night :)

Saturday, November 29, 2008

I love the holiday season... starting with Halloween, through Thanksgiving and on to my favorite holiday of the year- Christmas. I don't love the greed and the expected privileges that come with Christmas though... and you don't really get that with any of the other holidays except this one. For the past month or so I've been really bothered with how much the true meaning of Christmas has been lost. I'm fully aware that I don't always keep the focus where it needs to be... I get really caught up in making sure Deacon has the best Christmas ever and gets the most amazing gifts he could imagine. I love buying gifts for people and love getting gifts too... and this year I am relatively disgusted with myself that most of my Christmas focus is on one thing: gifts. I've never thought it was a big deal because at least I was focusing on GIVING gifts... but it's still focusing on materialistic things.

But anyways, I love Christmas and the weekend after Thanksgiving marks the time that we break out the Christmas tree and decorations- which I can honestly say is my favorite part of the entire season. I love spending the day decorating the house and tree- Christmas music playing in the background (yes, I'm THAT into it).

Deacon was so excited about decorating the Christmas tree. We started off our day at Hallmark to get our new ornaments that go in our series and while we were there we bought Deacon his first snow globe (he's been asking for one for ages). Sadly, he dropped his precious little snow globe on the concrete right as he was getting in the car... I almost cried with him, it was so sad. He was heartbroken. Thankfully Damien saved the day and went and got him a new one almost immediately. He was so protective of that snow globe the rest of the day. He did so well putting up the decorations on the tree- he did it so carefully and every ornament was placed on the tree quite intentionally. The rest of the evening I kept finding him just sitting in front of the tree staring at his ornaments... it was all so magical to him.

So I hope the start of the holiday season has been a good one for all of you... please feel free to share your family traditions for the holiday season- I love hearing how other families celebrate.

***On an entirely different, non-holiday, related note... did any of you ever have bad gallbladder issues when you were pregnant? I'm desperate here- I've had 4 attacks in the past 24 hours and I'm starting to lose my sanity with how much pain I'm in. I'm just looking for any advice at this point... I know there's not much that my doctor can do for me being 25 weeks pregnant, but I don't know what I'm going to do if this continues like this! I'm praying this was just a bad 24 hours and that things will go away for a while... I've felt good for the past 6 hours so that's a start. Anyways, let me know if you have any advice...

I have a goal to home-make a lot of my Christmas gifts this year... especially to my friends and all of Deacon's teachers.

Most people are getting a copy of my recipe binder which, in my not so humble opinion, is really cool and full of great recipes. Damien, my parents and Deacon are getting home-sewn pajamas... and they WILL wear them on Christmas Eve and act like they are wearing the most amazing pajamas EVER.

Deacon's teachers are all getting a tin full of Christmas goodies... and I'm REALLY excited about this one because I love baking- but I've never really taken the time to try new recipes and challenge myself. So I really want to make a wide variety of treats and I've been searching recipe sites and blogs in an attempt to find the best recipes.

If any of you have any great recipe sites or blogs (beyond All Recipes and Recipe Zaar) please let me know... and if you have an awesome recipe that I should try, tell me that too. I'm open to anything!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Deacon modeling the $9 vacuum that the crazy housewives fought over in WalMart at 5 a.m.

My day:3:05 a.m. - alarm rings, I leap out of bed and get ready... no big deal since I've hardly fallen asleep. I should have just gone to the outlets at midnight.3:20 a.m. - out the door... on my way to Kohl's3:45 a.m. - arrive at Kohl's... there's a line wrapped around the building already3:48 a.m. (yes, I looked at my cell phone and this was the exact time) - in line4:07 a.m. - walking into Kohl's:: Purchase 23 pc set of stainless steel cookware for $99 (with a $40 rebate)... receive $20 Kohl's cash:: Night before at 10:00 p.m. Damien takes advantage of free shipping on all door busters and got- $10 crockpot (originally $50), $50 food sealer saver thing (originally $100), $39 magic bullet (originally $79), $15 remote control helicopter (originally $40). Receive $20 Kohl's cash.4:16 a.m. - in my car driving to WalMart4:30 a.m. - in WalMart, calling Dawn... off to stand in front of vacuum cleaners and tupperware.:: Purchase 2 $7 28-piece Rubbermade Tupperware sets (originally $12), $4 hand mixer (originally $7), $5 scarf (not on sale), $10 movies (101 Dalmations & Peter Pan) (originally $19 a piece), $6 movie (How the Grinch Stole Christmas), $2 movie (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), $4 food chopper, $5 10 pack of Hot Wheels, $10 7" Mickey Doll, $9 Yo Gabba Gabba Hoodie, 2 $4 2-piece pajama sets, $4 Spiderman Hoodie, $15 Transformer pack, $8 Ultimate Crayola Art Kit, $10 Batman action figure, $28 Bissell Vacuum, $9 stick vacuum and a $10 Cars Semi Truck Loader.:: This was by far the funniest Black Friday experience of my LIFE. I was CERTAIN that I would have the easiest job today... Dawn was in electronics and toys and I was in charge of the vacuums, tupperware, hand mixers, and food chopper. I was wrong- among me were the craziest people I've ever met. One woman started a yelling match with a sales clerk over a $9 vacuum... at one point the woman started running away with the vacuum (10 minutes before she was allowed to take it) screaming, "WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?" Oh my gosh. I got everything on my list and headed to the boys clothing department- in the process dealing with the INSANE crowds who take this day way more seriously than I ever will. Dawn and I got everything on our list- we did a great job with our planning... this would have never worked a well had we not planned as well.6:00 a.m. - on my way to Toys R Us6:25 a.m. - arrive at Toys R Us6:45 a.m. - finally find a parking spot and walk in the door6:50 a.m. - waiting in the eletronics line8:05 a.m. - FINALLY up to the front of the line purchasing the ONE thing I came for:: Purchase THE LAST 16GB ipod nano (received $50 Toys R Us gift card with purchase)... purchased with a $75 gift card. Merry Christmas to me from Damien!:: I stood by some of the nicest people who let me keep sitting down... I was SO hot and tired by this point.

The rest of the morning is a blur as to what time I got where- but I did go to Old Navy (got some GREAT deals), Bath and Body Works (not very inspired and really grumpy at this point so I didn't get anything), Ulta (line too long... didn't really NEED anything), and Goores (got a GREAT deal on a body pillow and a GlamourMom tank top).

I got home around 10:30 and Damien and I decided to go back out with Deacon to Kohl's- I wanted to get my mom her Christmas and birthday gifts as well as pick up a couple Geo Trax for Deacon if there were any left. We got to Kohl's and I got in the extremely long line while Damien and Deacon took off and played in the store... when they were done Deacon and I went shopping for Grandma. We got some really great deals here too- and earned more Kohl's cash!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired but I got some amazing deals today and the only person who is left to buy for is Uncle Derek... and he's easy :) Black Friday 2008 was quite succesful!!! Hooray!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

(Trying to get 2 overly hyper boys to sit still for a picture is NOT easy)

We've had a great day... but now that the day is over and Deacon hasn't napped my patience has dwindled and I'm no longer feeling as thankful as I was a few hours ago. Right as I thought my patience was at an ultimate low, I asked Deacon what he was thankful for, to which he said his "wall-e and go diego games"- I asked if he was thankful for anything else and he said "no." Well, the night didn't get any better as bathtime ended and he threw a major fit over his Hot Wheels movie (which he knows he's not allowed to watch at night).

It's times like this when I'm not really thinking too much about giving thanks... but I guess it's times like this when I should make myself think about all the amazing things in my life.

Today was so nice and so low key. I love that every Thanksgiving that we've lived out here Damien and I have always felt so welcomed by friends of ours- and this year was no different. We went over to Cate's house this morning and had Thanksgiving lunch- just our family, Cate's family (husband & two kids) and Cate's dad and girlfriend. Deacon had a great time playing with Angus as always. The food was terrific and we had such a nice time just hanging out all afternoon.

I am so thankful for my family... I'm specifically talking about my parents and in-laws. I know how hard it is on them with us living out here- we miss them terribly and I know they wish they could see their grandchild (and us, I guess, LOL) more often... but they've never made us feel bad about our decisions to live in California. They have always been supportive of my many job changes... even when it means moving a million times.

It goes without saying that my California friends are some of the most amazing and supportive women I have ever met- and their husbands are pretty amazing too (most of the time, LOL). I couldn't ask for a better group of families to surround myself and my family with...

My friends from back home to me mean more than words can express... I miss them daily and have never been more thankful for things like email, facebook, blogs, etc, than I am now that we all live so far apart. I'm pretty addicted to the internet- but it's in part due to the fact that it allows me to be so connected to my friends.

I have never been one to be thankful for simple things like where I live or my job... but in this economy I have learned to no longer take these things for granted. I am SO thankful for my job and SO thankful for our house. Not only do I have a job that pays well, but I have a job that I love- that pays me to do something that I love... it amazes me almost daily lately. I have wonderful benefits and tons of flexibility.

... and lastly, I am so thankful for my favorite 4 boys- Damien, Deacon, Milo and this new baby. I have never loved anyone more in my entire life. They make me so happy... so so happy. My life feels absolutely chaotic most of the time because of these 4 boys... but it's all so worth it. (and I say this as Milo is whining at my feet... Deacon is in his room screaming for hot milk and baby no name has just now stopped kicking my bladder)

(oh, and I'm thankful for Dawn... who is willing to celebrate Black Friday with me the right way)

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ok, so who else is crazy like me & Dawn and will be getting up at the booty crack of dawn for some good sales???

I LIVE for Black Friday, LOL. Seriously, I get giddy every year just thinking about it. I start planning weeks in advance and the days leading up to it I start getting a wee bit nervous about how the day will go- all this planning and I want it to be perfect! HA! You would think I was planning a wedding or something.

I am SO happy to have a friend who loves the sales like me- and even better, she thinks like me too... so we've spent the past few days on the phone and computer figuring out where we're going and what we'll do there. Our big store this year is Wal Mart- which is a HUGE shocker for me, because I tend to stay clear of Wal Mart... but this year the deals are too good to pass up.

All the Black Friday ads will be in the paper tomorrow (Thursday) but you can also visit www.blackfriday.info for all the deals- this site has been a God-send to me these past few years.

The key is to make a plan... you will have the most successful day if you know what you want, know where you're going and what time the door-busters start and end. Many door-busters will be gone within the first hour- so you need to prioritize. It is also helpful (and essential at some stores) that you know where you're going- many items will fly off the shelves immediately and you'll have no time to be running around trying to figure out where everything is (I learned this the hard way at Staples one year).

Here's my plan:3:45ish- Arrive at Kohl's4:00- Kohl's opens4:30- Be in the car driving to Wal Mart4:45- Be walking into Wal Mart5:00- Black Friday begins at Wal Mart 6:00- On my way to Toys R Us7:00- On my way to Jo Ann's8:00- On my way to Goore's 9:30- Possiblly hit the remainder of stores (if I'm not too tired and stores don't look too insane)- Bath and Body Works, Bed Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, Borders, Target (doubtful that I'll want to step foot in Target)11:30- Stop at McDonalds to get lunch for Damien, Deacon and INoon- SLEEP!!! 3:00- Start setting up Christmas decorations with my boys :) (the best part of the day)

My dad got me hooked on Black Friday... and I miss not going to the sales with him- though I think I've gotten a bit crazier than him over the years. He's a bit more laid back with his planning- though he leaves the house at the same time :)

Deacon didn't have school this week and since Damien hasn't really built up a lot of vacation quite yet, I took the week off! Every other year Damien and I have split the week, so this was a first for me and Deacon. I was really nervous at first because we didn't really have anything planned... and it didn't help that within an hour of waking up on Monday he sadly proclaimed that he was bored and wanted to go see his friends at school.

Monday morning we went to Davis to eat lunch with daddy- and that was a lot of fun. When he woke up from his nap he watched the Transformers cartoon for the first time ever. This was a HUGE deal. I am very against toy guns, pretend fighting, pretend violence in general, etc... but I've quickly learned that with the things he loves, it's pretty much unavoidable. He's going to see it on t.v. or see it at school- at least if he sees it at our house I'm able to choose what he watches and talk to him about how "that's not nice, is it?" when something comes on that I don't like. I'm able to control what comes into our house in regards to toys- no toy guns for example... and that's really hard to do when he wants to play with super hero toys- all the super heroes come with a weapon of some sort. Anyways- he loved the Transformers cartoons... a lot.

On Tuesday, Cate, Angus and Waverly came over to play... Deacon was SO excited to have a friend over. He and Angus did a great job playing together- and the best part was that for most of the time they played upstairs while Cate and I just hung out downstairs... ah, the joys of older (well behaved) kids.

Today I dropped Deacon off at Kids Park (drop-off daycare) so I could run some errands in peace... plus he asked if he could go play with friends today so this was a good compromise, LOL. I met Dawn (and Aiden & Allison) at Wal Mart so we could scope out our plan of attack for Black Friday... which is an entirely different post :)

After naptime Deacon and I watched Wall*E - which was SO cute. He sat through the entire thing... it was such a nice afternoon- snuggled up on the couch with Milo and Deacon. Deacon and I ran to the store around 4 p.m. for some salad supplies for tomorrow- and I assumed it would be crowded, but nothing prepared me for the chaos inside Safeway. I figured there would be a bunch of people there getting last minute supplies- oh no, the majority of people were there getting HUGE cart FULLS of food and supplies. Deacon and I had the smallest cart I saw- and we had about 1o items. Crazy. As a prize for being SO good at the store and all week we made brownies tonight- YUM. Deacon LOVES to lick the spoon... so much so that he got stuffed on that and ended up not even wanting brownies, LOL.

So that's my 3 day week as a stay at home mom :) Much more successful and laid back than I originally thought it was going to be... However, I will continue to give SAHM's my utmost respect- I told Damien tonight that I am more exhausted than I have been in a long time... and that I'm ready to get back to work to get a break, LOL.

(... and until I had to deal with it all day by myself, I never realized how every.single.time I get on the phone Deacon NEEDS my attention IMMEDIATELY. That was annoying)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

So with this love and logic parenting he goes in his room when he's behaving poorly and is allowed to come out when he's ready to be sweet... I get that and 99% of the time it works out fine for us.

But as I sit here and type this, Deacon is in his room throwing things, hitting things and just being overly aggressive and nasty...

So for now I'm ignoring it because I'm pretty sure most of the stuff in his room is kid safe... but part of me wonders if I should just go in there and take away everything he's throwing- with the premise of letting him know that when he's ready to start taking care of his toys he can have them back.

Oh how I love 3 year old temper tantrums... at 7:30 a.m.

... and all because I was talking on the phone with Grandma and it wasn't his turn to talk.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Today we went down to a local park to take some pictures for our holiday card (the family one posted here is not what we're using, by the way)... we figured the beach was a safe bet since Milo is (was) scared of water and we knew there wouldn't be a lot of people around.

Well, we quickly learned that Milo is no longer scared of water... this dog went CRAZY trying to get into the water. Poor Damien- I honestly thought Milo was going to drag him into the river. Instead of helping I, of course, grabbed my camera and took pictures.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Yesterday I spent the day in Oakland... first at a community college and then at a public high school in downtown Oakland.

I gave this presentation to these students who paid attention to me from the minute I opened my mouth... they were engaging, interested, caring and seemingly motivated. They asked great questions- and a few even asked about what it takes to transfer to UCLA (which is great that they're considering a community college).

At the end of the presentation the lead counselor stood up, thanked me profusely and then said the most heartbreaking thing I've heard in a long time, "You guys are so lucky to have Ms. Eversmann here... schools like UCLA don't visit schools like ours." All the kids nodded and clapped and then many of them came up and shook my hands afterwards- as if I had done them a huge favor... when in reality, I was just doing my job. It breaks my heart to think that there are probably lots of other schools like this one who get ignored by top tier PUBLIC institutions... and that's not right. Everyone deserves a shot at these schools... and maybe if more schools would make an effort to get out to these inner city schools we wouldn't be faced with problems of lack of diversity on college campuses- of course these kids don't want to come to our schools... we don't make them feel welcomed.

So it was a real eye opener for me... and today as I head off to a few very privileged, well funded public schools in the bay area I can only pray that these kids recognize the privileges that come with simple things like living in the "right" school district.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

From the minute I found out I was pregnant I began researching... researching what? Everything. Anything! It became a compulsion for me to make sure I had researched every.single.detail. I slowly drove myself insane. It's taken me 3 years to really knock that off... 3 years of reading nearly every parenting book known to man, every Consumer Reports guide on car seat safety, and every book that would help me figure out how to get Deacon to sleep. There are many books and reports that I've enjoyed, but very rarely do I ever fall in love with a book... up to now there are only 3 books that I *love* with all my being (and would probably tackle the author and shower him with kisses and hugs if we ever met)- Happiest Baby on the Block; Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby & (my all time sanity/life saver) Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems. There are clearly others that I've really enjoyed over the years, but those 3 (until now) are the best (in my not so humble opinion).

I now have a new book I am recommending to everyone who will listen- Parenting With Love And Logic (Updated and Expanded Edition). This book has been absolutely amazing in helping Damien and I as parents... yes, even Damien read the book- that's how good it was. The authors advocate allowing your child to make logical choices and receive logical consequences for their own actions. No punishments, no spanking- just consequences- logical, natural consequences.

One of the first things Damien and I wanted to tackle was the fact that Deacon consistently had temper tantrums at night when it came time to turn off the t.v., get dressed, brush teeth and go potty... after he does these things he goes in his room and we read stories. Without fail, there would be a fit when his show was over and it was time to start the next process. Parenting with L&L suggests offering the child choices to let him feel as though he's still in control- or has some control. As adults, we don't like being told what to do- and kids certainly don't either... especially from bossy adults. So a few weeks ago we started the L&L approach- we gave him choices (do you want to do teeth brushing or potty first? do you want this tooth paste or that tooth paste? etc...) There are plenty of times when he doesn't choose either option, and that's when we choose for him and move on... BUT, when we first started he was so blown away that we actually cared about what he thought that the temper tantrum stopped immediately- and he made choices. He quickly learned each night that he does have choices in the matter... and sure, we still have our bad nights- but those are fewer and far between... and our bad nights are nothing in comparison to how they used to be.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

So I'm definitely not above bribery... in fact, I think it is a very useful parenting tool.

Last night we decided to join Karla, Ron and Taylor at the IMAX for a viewing of Madagascar II (aka "The Lion Movie"). Deacon LOVES the Lion Movie... it is one of his absolute favorites and we have nearly worn that DVD down completely with how much we watch it. He's been talking about the new Lion Movie for weeks now so I *knew* he would love it... though I did have my doubts about how he would do at the IMAX. Well, I should have followed my mommy-gut and just stuck to the regular movies... but instead I loaded Damien and Deacon up into the car and drove 40 minutes to El Dorado Hills to the IMAX. The minute we walked into the theater he FLIPPED OUT. Seriously had a panic attack. To make a LONG story short, we ended up just leaving and getting our money back... he was so upset. We left and went to dinner- and it was then that I realized he wasn't feeling well... low grade fever and allergy issues. Poor thing.

So I decided today we should try to go back to the movies... not the IMAX. Needless to say he was still traumatized from the night before that he wanted nothing to do with the Lion Movie- until I bribed him. I told him he could go pick out a new Hot Wheels toy if he was brave enough to sit through the movie... and he fell for it!

He LOVED LOVED LOVED the movie... laughed the ENTIRE time- even the parts where it wasn't funny. When it was over he wanted to watch it again... until we reminded him that we were going to go get him a new toy. He choose a 5 pack of Nickelodeon themed cars- Dora, Diego, Blues Clues, Backyardigans and something else...

Saturday, November 15, 2008

So last night Damien and I agreed to watch Aiden and Allison while Dawn and Cory went to a Kings game... the kids came to our house around 6:30- which is right around the start of bedtime routine for Deacon. Well, let me tell you, Deacon was SO excited to have Aiden over at his house so late at night he could hardly settle down. Considering that we normally only put one child to bed, I'd say Damien and I were very successful in keeping all 3 kids happy most of the time (I had some problems with Allison when she realized I would not be breastfeeding her at bedtime) and by the time Cory and Dawn got back we had 2 of the 3 children sleeping... Aiden was just laying in his bed quietly (which is fine with me!).

I took this opportunity to try some of the cloth diapers on Allison- and they were SO cute. I think the funniest thing was because she's so big she hardly fit into the diapers- even the biggest ones I have on the largest setting. But I couldn't get over how cute she looked. I wish I had a picture from the front, but my camera was cooperating... but I think the one I got was super cute anyways.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Click on the link above to hear how you can help the No on 8 movement and help fight against discrimination. In cities all over the US tomorrow (Saturday) people will be demonstrating, showing their support and demands for equality.

Unfortunately I will be in the bay area at an Hispanic Youth program- which is a GREAT program for disadvantaged, underrepresented students- so I won't be able to attend. But trust me, I had every intention of going out as a family to show our support... and yes, I would have taken Deacon.

To all my wonderful friends who will be out tomorrow- Deacon, Damien and I are keeping you in our positive thoughts and prayers. We love you and will fight with you until there are equal rights for every single one of us.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

As a parent do you ever wake up (not literally wake up from a sleep... but "wake up" from your day to day routine) and realize how quickly time has gone by? I've never been an overly emotional parent in regards to Deacon growing up. I very much welcomed every new stage of development- especially early on. I loved the interactive little boy he was becoming and I never looked back... I am a parent who does not adore the newborn stage- in fact, I'm really nervous about it with baby boy #2... I just don't "do" the newborn stage well. But give me an infant/toddler and I'm in heaven. Anyways- I'm getting further away from the point I'm trying to make...

For the past month we've been working on getting the nursery started and completely transitioning Deacon into a big boy room. Tonight I was emptying Deacon's old dresser out (the one from his nursery that we've still been using) and putting his clothes into his new dresser... and as I emptied the last drawer something in me snapped. This was the one piece of furniture that still tied Deacon to his nursery... by emptying this drawer Deacon no longer uses any of the furniture he used as a baby. He's no longer a little baby... wow. The thing is, I know he's not a baby- and I really don't know why this situation hit me so hard. But I started to cry as I took that last load of pajamas out of the dresser and into his new dresser.

I still welcome his growing up... and every day I love the big boy he is becoming- I love our conversations now and the things we can do together. But tonight I was snapped out of my daze and truly realized how quickly it all goes by...

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Deacon has outgrown all his underwear so I went to Target the other day and got him 10 new pairs. Damien and I finally got around to doing laundry today and Deacon saw the pile of new underwear- you would have thought he had died and gone to heaven. I have NEVER seen someone get so excited about underwear. We laid out all the underwear so he could choose which he would wear to school tomorrow- and he to try on a couple before he decided on the Spiderman boxer briefs (had chose from Spiderman, Madagascar & Star Wars- all very tough competitors).

After seeing the underwear he saw the new Spiderman hat he got and he was equally as excited. I am so excited for Christmas this year- if underwear and hats get him this happy then Christmas day will be the best day ever.

Before bathtime I put him on the bed to take his picture with his new underwear and hat- and he was such a ham. He wanted to do his hip hop dance (scratch the record and rapping- along with the "mean hip hop face")- which is SO funny.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

As we have done every other year we've been together, my friends and I got together for our Thanksgiving dinner. It's the one time of year we get all the husbands and kids together- we try really hard to pick a date that everyone can be there, and almost every year we end up only missing one family- which is great when you're trying to rally that many people!

Well this year was very peculiar because one of the people missing was Lisa- but we had the party at her house! Well, doesn't her husband win husband of the year? Lisa is in Singapore and Greg graciously agreed to hosting the party because with such a big group our options are very limited. Greg was a great host!

As always, we have so much to be thankful for this year... when we started our group we had no kids- and slowly but surely there were more and more babies. Now there are 18 kids total (I think, LOL- plus two on the way). I love these women more than I can even begin to describe- I can't imagine them not being such a big part of my life. Our kids have so much fun together and the husbands aren't too bad either :)

Tonight was amazing- the kids were SO well behaved... so well behaved in fact that half the time I forgot Deacon was even there. Ahh, a relaxing dinner with no interruptions- wonderful. A relaxing dinner with no interruptions and political discussions to boot- heaven, LOL. It was a great night overall. The food was great! Damien and I were in charge of the stuffing and turkey... however, the stuffing ended up being a huge group effort, so thanks to Dawn, Joline & Jennifer for helping me turn my bread soup into stuffing, LOL. The turkey turned out good I thought- but turkey is one thing that I'm not too picky about :)

Unfortunately I brought my fixed lens so I didn't get any pictures of the whole group... but got some cute ones. I like the one of Damien on the floor of the play room- he was supposed to be cleaning the play room but got distracted by the fun toys.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

All I can say is that I'm disappointed in the majority of voters in the state of California. In a country where people are supposed to have equal right despite their gender, race, religious preference, etc... we decided yesterday to not grant equal rights to those who are gay. And for what reason? How do you explain it? Because your religion says it's not ok? What about my religion? What about rights of the people? Isn't the government supposed to protect rights despite religious preference? Many times throughout history our culture uses religion as a reason behind our discriminatory practices- slavery being one of them. Were there religious people during those times who were so sad that their religion was being used as a reason to keep slaves?- I can only imagine there were... just like now there are people who are sad that their religion and their society has chosen to take away rights of people who are gay.

I have many friends who are gay- and I can tell you right now that it sucks to stand next to them knowing that in this country I have more rights than they do. My prayer is that by the time my two boys are old enough to understand any of this it will all be history- and we will all have equal rights. I can tell my sons that they can be whoever they want to be, love who they want to love- and it doesn't matter- God loves them, I love them and they don't have to worry about anything.

I'm just sad right now... I know a lot of people who voted yes on 8. In fact, I think I know more who voted "yes" than who voted "no." These people are some of my best friends... I hope that someday we can understand each other better with this issue.

Things will change. I am hopeful. There are way too many good people in this world for it not to change.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

I am so proud of America... I am so proud of Ohio... I am so proud to be a part of such amazing history. So excited this new baby will be born under a candidate who we support and admire so much... and that Deacon's first election has been so historic. I got tears in my eyes as I filled in the bubble for Obama and Biden.

I am so proud of this country not just because of our President elect, but because of how many people got out and voted... no matter what your views are you must always exercise your right to vote.

(I'll save my feelings on prop 8 when those results are final... but suffice to say I'm worried)

Monday, November 3, 2008

I feel like an idiot... out of all the names I listed I forgot one of my favorites! Maybe it's a sign... but it seems to be a favorite of Deacon's too- since the opinion of the 3 year old is very important.

I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I've got a growing belly... after months of trying to lose my belly, and years of trying not to draw attention to my belly- it's hard to take a picture and post it like this. But it's important to me since I have only one belly shot of me pregnant with Deacon.

So here's me and baby at 21ish weeks! He's doing well and has been kicking up a storm lately. I love feeling all that movement- it makes me laugh almost everytime he does it. Most of the time he does it when I'm wearing my non-maternity pants that are too tight around my tummy... and then I just reassure him that I'm uncomfortable too.

I've still got the low lying placenta- but I'm not worried about it... my doctor is fairly confident it will move by the time March rolls around. If it doesn't, it means c-section... which isn't great news, but it doesn't concern me.

Baby still doesn't have a name... I wish we could say it's narrowed down to Asher and Max- but somehow we've got more names now than ever, LOL... and I think I'm mostly to blame- ok, I'm all to blame. Here's what we've got so far- and we are VERY open to suggestions:Asher- I'm still having a hard time saying it... I know everyone loves it, but it still hasn't "clicked"

Max - though Max, unfortunately, is slowly fading off my list because I feel like it sounds like the family dog when you pair it with all our names... Damien, Amanda, Deacon & Max

Cole- probably one of my favorites right now... Damien isn't as convinced quite yet. His full name would be Arthur Cole Eversmann- so his initials would be ACE- which is a cool nickname too. He would not be called Arthur, but Arthur Cole flows much better than Cole Arthur.

Jacob - I know it's super super popular, but I really like it... as does everyone else I guess.

Levi - Cate suggested this one and I really like it... just not 100% sold.

Eli- a favorite of my mother & father in law... cute, but Eli Arthur Eversmann?- does it really work?

Xavier - though Xavier Arthur Eversmann sounds funky to me... and I *hate* that it's a name that will be mispronounced... it's pronounced Zavier, not Ex-Zavier (you don't say ex-zylophone do you?). Can you tell this is something we hate? LOL.

(edited to add) Cooper - I forgot about this one... I like this one, as does Damien, but we think Cooper Arthur Eversmann might be a mouthful.

We've had such a great visit with Grandma... and we got SO much accomplished with her being here. Not only did we get a TON organized, but she also finished almost all of the sewing for the nursery and almost all of the sewing that needs to be done for Deacon's new big boy room. I'm SO excited for Christmas to get here so I can see Deacon's finished quilt!!!

Deacon has been SO spoiled having Grandma here... his bedtime routine is ridiculously long with Grandma and she gives him milk and graham crackers whenever he wants. On top of that he gets picked up from school earlier and Grandma is more willing to sit outside in the cold and let him ride his bike, LOL.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

So, I'm not as quick as Amanda at getting the posts out. Nor am I as prolific a poster. But I do manage to get a few out there every now and then and I'd like to think they're decent.

Earlier this week, Marty/Grandma decided that it would be fun to take Deacon for a bus ride. Unfortunately with Amanda's hecka crazy travel schedule for work and the fact that I need a car on a daily basis now too, made it a little difficult to schedule such an outing. So, Thursday, before I left for work, at 7:30 in the morning, I dropped Deacon and Grandma off at the bus stop. They got on the bus and rode 20 minutes to the local library where Amanda was waiting to take Deacon to daycare and Marty home before she left town.

Well, Deacon loved it! He was in awe of the new perspective he had of everything. We never think about it, but from the confines of his car seat, he really can;t see much when we're driving around. Marty said the first thing he did was talk about how cool the sidewalk was. Sure, he talked about more interesting things later, but it started with the sidewalk.

I guess we have to get him out a little more often.

That little grey blur in the middle of the picture is Deacon boarding the bus. Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures... unlike Amanda who keeps a 6 megapixel DSLR camera attached to herself at all times, all I had was my phone and the grey dawn for lighting.

Deacon spent the ENTIRE day at home relaxing... he was given the option to go to out many times but he refused when we told him he'd have to put clothes on, LOL. But it makes sense that he wanted to lay low- yesterday was so overstimulating and then today he woke up at 4:50 ready for the day.

Needless to say, we're all exhausted...

For work today I went to a motivational conference for community college students- the program is geared towards Latin@ students but anyone is welcome. As many of you know me, I cry easily to begin with... but put me in a situation where someone is empowering him or herself and I'm going to lose it. During the keynote speakers address I was sitting at my table with tears running down my face the entire time... not because his story was sad, but because of how empowered he was and how motivational he was to these kids. He talked about life growing up- and I sat there and thought about all the things I took for granted as a child... and all these kids in the room related to HIM and not me- and they were proud of it. They were proud of what they had gone through to get to this point in their life- their experiences weren't viewed as hardships... whereas I hear their stories and my mind immediately went to "hardship"- it was a GREAT message for me to not assume.

Anyways... My favorite part of his talk came when he was talking about what motivates us- and he started talking about getting out to vote- which got a huge cheer. And then he put up a picture of Obama... and it was as if he just told the crowd they had each won a new car. He got a standing ovation immediately... it was amazing and so neat. He talked a bit about politics and I couldn't stop thinking about Deacon during this talk... I want Deacon to grow up in a country where he has rights no matter who he chooses to love... I want him to get an education no matter if Damien and I can or cannot afford it... I want him to always have access to health care... I want the world for him.

It was a great conference, and despite the fact that I've got a horrible head cold, I was able to sit back and learn a lot today.